From: Jochum Drechsler WEB DE> Date: 13 nov 2002 Subject: Re: A cultural difference? Dear Larry and other shogi-friends, in the last meeting in Brussels Fesa has decided to allow Bronstein- and Fisher-modes for tournaments. We have not yet set the time limits for those modes. I am supposed to propose some. We have allready some ideas and are trying them out in our club. We hope to run our team championship early next year in Fisher-mode. Jochum. > The "solution" in my opinion is quite simple; replace byoyomi with > "time delay" (a.k.a. "Bronstein mode") which is available on most digital > chess clocks. This is actually much closer to what is used in professional > shogi. They don't do byoyomi as such; they simply don't count the first 59" > (or any other fractional minutes) of each move. If they did count > fractional minutes other than the first 59", it would be true time delay. > With byoyomi as we use it, it is normal to end up in it, partly because the > disadvantage is not so severe usually, as Edi says here. But with time > delay, the player with extra time really has that much extra time, and so > there is a strong incentive to avoid byoyomi. I think this is exactly what > Edi wants, and it should lead to better shogi quality because the % of games > ending with only byoyomi would be far smaller. > Note that it does not have to mean longer games, because the initial > time per player can be reduced by half the number of minutes as the byoyomi > is in seconds, and the games should take about as long. So instead of 30' + > 30" (as used in the recent Shogi Forum event), it would be 15' with 30" > delay. A player who made his moves consistently within 30" would still have > 15' plus 30" per move available for the endgame. > The point is that this way, the initial time can be used in the > opening, middle game, or ending, as the player thinks best, whereas with the > byoyomi way it must be used (at least partially) in the opening. This delay > system is used in nearly all chess events in the U.S., and I highly > recommend it for shogi events everywhere. > > Larry Kaufman, amateur 5 Dan and US Shogi Federation Chairman